But I’m sorry, pal. You gotta stay home while your friend takes the car out and shows it off.

Here’s the thing. You’re a mechanic. You’re brilliant at what you do. But different jobs require different skills. Now that the car is done, you need to hand it over to your friend, the marketer.

The marketer goes to car shows and shakes hands. He talks to people. He tells stories about the car. He gets people excited and interested. Sometimes, he even thinks up promotional stunts to keep people engaged.

You think he’s a show off. You think he’s full of crap (or worse). You don’t trust him as far as you can throw a Studebaker V-8.

But what do you do when you go to car shows? You sit in a lawn chair behind your car. You don’t talk to anyone you don’t know. Matter of fact, you’re hardly ever there with your car in the first place. Sorry, genius, but you’re a buzzkill at car shows.

Trust the marketer to do his job. He’s really good at informing, entertaining, and educating. In the words “car show,” you bring the “car”; he brings the “show.”

I know it’s hard to accept, but the marketer is as important as you are. And here’s a thought: if both of you start working together, I’ll bet you go a lot farther with that classic car than either one of you could alone. Teamwork gets better mileage.

So at the next car show, let the marketer take the wheel. You provide the fan belts and fan blades. Let him provide the fans. Together, you’ll be cool.

Classic car fans are deeply concerned these days about declining club memberships and apathy among young people.

Part of this is natural. It’s difficult to get young folks excited about cars they didn’t grow up with or have a personal connection with.

But I think a humongous part of this decline is staring at us in the mirror.

When you go to a car show, do you look forward to it primarily as an opportunity to connect with old friends? Or do you think about it as a way to recruit new members?

If it’s the former, then you’re really just organizing a cocktail party with cars. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but when you turn inward toward each other, you won’t really recruit many new members.

If it’s the latter, then you’re thinking about growing, expanding, and perpetuating your hobby. Turning outward toward the public now may be the best way to make sure you still have your orphan car show 10 years from now.

Did you know that Studebaker released a comedy record in Late 1964? It’s strange. It’s rare. It’s true.

In this podcast, you’ll hear the complete recording of a limited-release comedy sketch called All Canadian Car. Then Stu Chapman, Studebaker’s last Director of Advertising and Promotion, joins us to tell us what it was all about and why it was made.